


The Best Present Of All

by Gallahad



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, First Kiss, some shivagran in the background if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 06:04:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17156609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gallahad/pseuds/Gallahad
Summary: Sturm never quite understood the appeal of Christmas.Until now.





	The Best Present Of All

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Secret Santa for @[lizbluefantaliz](https://twitter.com/lizbluefantaliz)! Their request was something romantic and Christmas-themed with Sturm and Drang, and I was happy to oblige.

 

Sturm never quite understood the appeal of Christmas.

Oh, sure, she could understand how someone would enjoy using the holidays as an excuse to take a break, eat a good meal, and drink until feeling pleasantly numb.

What she failed to grasp was the whole... commotion about it.

It seemed like, all of a sudden, folks around her collectively lost their brains to become the most gullible, candid hive-mind ever. It was weird to see them suddenly transform into people thinking only of _families_ and _good times_ and _being nice to one another_. As if it didn't matter the rest of the year.

The skyfarers' crew was no exception. As expected of a rowdy and motley bunch under Gran and Djeeta's command, the Christmas' frenzy was even more present on the Grancypher than on any island they would land on. Everyone was ready and bouncing with anticipation. Red and green ornaments decorated the ship from the keel to the mast. A tree - the biggest that would fit - adorned with garlands and lights was sitting triumphantly in the mess. The kitchen was always bursting with activity over all the crew mates trying all sorts of recipes for the Christmas Eve's meal. The younger ones on the ship were running in the alleyways in an early search for Santa. Sturm even saw Orchid writing a letter for him, explaining that she wanted to thank him for the presents she was hoping to get.

But if there would be one person eager to celebrate, it would be Drang. After all, it was the perfect occasion for him to practice that damn fake smile of his. She wasn't dumb. Traveling with the erune for so long made her very aware of his sly and manipulative behavior.

Not that she minded. For all his big talks and annoying personality, he was a better partner than what she thought he would be at the beginning of their cooperation.

No, the problem right now was that she was dreading his reaction to... That festive atmosphere coursing among the entire crew. They were working together for a while now. And each year, Christmas was something out of the picture. Either because they were too distracted by an important contract, or because they didn't know each other enough to _not make it weird_ , celebrating it together. And Sturm, professional to the core, would simply shut him down every time he would try to remark upon it.

Sturm hadn't celebrated the holidays since she left her family, all those years ago. For her, it was a normal day, a normal time, and she was used to being alone during it.

But now. Now they were members of that big, idealistic crew - how did they become a part of it was still a mystery she wasn't going to reflect upon - filled to the brim with prying and lousy people. It would be the first Christmas for the both of them among a crowd celebrating it. She didn't want that. She didn't want to be a part of it. It was troublesome. Plus, they wouldn't stay on this ship forever, and forging bonds with so many people was not worth the hassle.

But Drang... She was certain he would adore it. It was in his - quite devious - nature after all. To seek the noise, and the warmth of the others. She needed to find him and make sure he would not try to trick her into joining him. Something he was well capable of doing.

On the deck, the air was cold and crisp, and her breath created tiny white clouds that would flow away. Sturm was freezing, but she was welcoming the peace, wrapped in her cape. Apart for that cocky helmsman - that she couldn't help but eye funny when she saw him wearing a silly santa hat - there weren't many people out there. She could see the Black Knight - no, _Apollonia_ \- talking with her father without, for once, her usual sour face. So, ever her could be sweetened by the holidays spirits. Go figure.

She left it alone and turned toward the other part of the deck. Here, against the rail, head turn was their captain. Talking casually with-...

"You've got to be kidding me."

Shiva. It was Shiva. The fire primal himself. Twice the size of the ship, purple skin, white snake, four arms. Hard to not recognize. Harder to miss.

His expression was serene as he seemed to be deeply listening to Gran talk with animation and a calm smile on his face. Leisurely floating in the sky alongside their ship, the successor of Michael almost didn't seem out of place.

Sturm shook her head to clear out her disbelief. It was no secret that Gran could achieve the impossible. The mercenary herself was a witness to most of it. Befriending the actual deity of destruction almost sounded like a stroll on a sunday morning at this point.

"You mortals hold so many unnecessary customs. You are telling me that you made up a fake primal to justify gifting material goods to others?" She didn't mean to pry on their conversation, but Shiva's voice was rumbling. Quieter than what she was anticipating however. A far cry from the times the crew had to fight against him in a flurry of storm and fire.

"Not a primal, just a guy in a red costume. But yes, basically." Gran answered with a patient enthusiasm. "It is a fun tradition though. Would you like to try it? I want to offer you something too."

"I hold no desire for material things."

"Then, is there something _non-materialistic_ that you would like?"

The deity seemed to ponder the question, hand petting lazily the lounging snake coiled against his chest.

"Alexiel and Europa have descended among you humans, and became quite fond of you. Their enthusiasm is surprising. I would like to see what is so great about living alongside you as equals."

Gran nodded, the smile on his face becoming as bright as the sun.

"So you want to descend in the sky realm too? Feel free to do so, you are totally welcome in our crew. I'd enjoy traveling with you."

The god chuckled, as if amused by the mortal's proposition, but without rejecting it. It was too much for Sturm. She had to escape the surrealism of the situation.

She cleared her throat, trying to get Gran's attention. And trying to forget Shiva's as she did so.

"Capt... Gran."

He turned toward her. He looked subtly different than the first time Drang and her met him. Not quite in appearance but... In spirit maybe? At least, now, he donned the maturity and the charisma of a true skyfarer and captain of a ship, and not the childishness of a kid trying to play the adventurer.

"Oh, Sturm! Is everything alright?"

"Yes." Curt as always, but she wasn't the type to play nice. "Have you seen Drang?"

"Drang? Ahh, yes, he had to talk to me this afternoon. I thought you were already with him though."

At that, she squinted her eyes. She could hear a subtext, somewhere in that sentence. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh. Hm. Nothing... much? You two are always together, I don't think I saw you separated very often, so..."

"I see."

She would let it go for the time being. Gran was obviously hiding something, but the presence of a primal beast of destruction mere feet from them was deterrent enough for her to keep her doubts to herself.

When she didn't elaborate, Gran spoke again, with a slight hesitation in his voice that was betraying a suspicious nervousness.

"Last time I ran into him, he was in the kitchen."

Sturm considered the captain for a moment then bowed her head slightly and offered a short thank before turning away.

She clearly heard the sight of relief he made when she left, as well as the fond, quiet laugh of Shiva.

The Grancypher was deceptively more massive than what met the eye from the outside. She had heard from the helmsman the story of the primal beast who looked like a young boy that also acted as the guardian spirit of this ship and thought it was the reason why, that maybe it _was_ really bigger on the inside. It was as incredible as it was annoying right now. Several months in the crew and she still had troubles finding her way sometimes.

So, she wandered longer than she liked, and became increasingly more irritable.

When she finally stumbled onto Drang, it was quite literally. She took what was probably another wrong turn, and collided with the Erune, who seemed as restless as her. She cursed at the impact and felt a hand on her shoulder keeping her steadily in place. Something immediately settled in her stomach, reassuring. As much as she would hate to admit it, she was now so used to his presence at her side that being left without him was unsettling.

"O-to-to! There you are, Sturm. I searched everywhere for you!"

She sighed as she freed herself to take a step back. "That's my line, you idiot."

"Ohh?" _Here we go. Here's that cocky grin again._ "Why, Sturm, were you searching for me? Could it be that you were worried about me?"

"As if."

"Oof. Not a shred of hesitation. How harsh."

Sturm didn't grant that with an answer. Drang was this kind of man who just liked to hear his own voice.

Still, something was out of place. The trickster seemed less boisterous than usual - just a little. She took a good look at her companion. Something that would, normally, be treated as another occasion for Drang to say another dumb remark about _"how she was mesmerized by his magnetic personality"_ or something like that.

The fact that he remained silent, and even looked a little fidgety, confirmed her doubts. Both her face and tone were deadpan when she spoke.

"What did you do?"

Drang gasped loudly, as dramatically as he could manage, enough for a group of skyfarers traversing the hallway to turn toward them.

"Sturm! Why must you assume that I did something reprehensible?"

"You're jittery, and obviously hiding something."

And the more it was going, the more it would upset her. Drang could have privacy. He could have secrets, and he could manipulate others for whatever interest he needed to achieve. She didn't care. But lie to her, now, that was a line she would not forgive. She always thought Drang to be smart enough to know that without her telling him.

"Me? I would never. It is the holidays season after all, I am simply happy at the prospect."

"Cut the act." She crossed her arms, and made herself demanding. As a female Draph, she was short, but she knew her look was imposing enough to compensate for her height. At least, it always seemed to work on Drang. "I saw Gran on my way. He was as suspicious as you. Tell me what you're planning."

At the mention of Gran, the Erune deflated. "The captain is a really bad liar huh... Couldn't keep a secret even if his life depended on it. Or maybe it is you who are too perceptive."

"Drang."

"Alright, alright. Cat's out of the bag. I'll tell you. But for that," surprisingly, he found his confidence back fairly quickly, and extended a hand toward Sturm, "I need you to come with me."

"What?"

She stared at him, dumbfounded. He only smiled at her, waiting expectantly.

"Is it another one of your jokes?"

"Only one way for you to find out, right?"

"I'm warning you; if it's something stupid, I'll stab you to death." Sturm conceded before taking the offered hand.

"Outch, I wouldn't want that."

He laughed, carefree as always. But Sturm knew him well now. She could hear the tinge of nervousness he was trying to hide.

Drang navigated them through the Grancypher, their hands tied together. Since she didn't have to care about the way, she started focusing on that instead. They never held hands before, and quite frankly it was as awkward as it was impractical. Yet she took it so naturally that she was puzzled by herself.

She also tried not too feel too embarrassed every time they came across another crew member, but nobody seemed to care about them. Everyone was too focused on the last preparations for the big party that would take place tonight.

"Here we are." Drang managed to take her out of her contemplation, letting go of her hand.

The Draph looked at the door facing her, before turning slowly toward her companion.

"This is your room."

"It is."

He even had the audacity to look coy, laughing anxiously. She was growing tired of not getting any straight answer, and it looked like Drang could tell as such.

"As a matter of fact, I wanted to do this in your room, so you would be more at ease but... There was no way to know when you would return to it, it was too risky. So Gran suggested this instead and..."

"To the point, Drang."

"Right. Right right right. Well then. Here we go. I wanted to wait until later but I guess this will do."

He opened the door for her. Sturm eyed him with one last warning look before entering the tiny room.

Once inside, she couldn't help but be astonished.

The bedroom was small - as were almost all of them on the ship - but it didn't feel like it.

The room was lit with delicate decorations and small bubbles of magic, warm lights hanging in the air. A very tiny Christmas tree, almost like a little clone of the one in the mess hall, was on the desk, that had been emptied of all the clutter Drang would habitually keep on it. Pearly whites and pastel blues filled her vision, from all the adornments and flowers. In the middle, a little table was taking most of the place, embellished with silver cutlery and white tablecloth. It was also full of food and drinks, and she could even spot a present, badly hidden behind a cushion on the bed.

It looked like a scene straight out of one of those winter fairytales for kids.

"Well," came the voice of Drang just behind her, clearly not trying to hide his worry anymore, "you haven't stabbed me yet, so must I assume that you like it?"

"...I don't understand."

"Believe it or not Sturm, but after being your partner for so long, I know quite a lot about you." At that, she opened her mouth, ready for a comeback, but Drang didn't let her. "I know how you are. As long as it doesn't involve a job, you avoid crowds and social gatherings like the plague."

She was starting to piece everything together.

"But, you know, for once, it's Christmas, and we aren't cramped in a cavern in the stormy mountain, or trying to run away from knights trying to kill us, and everyone here is so earnest and _ready_ for today. I wanted you to have a nice Christmas too, but without forcing you into being with everyone-"

"Drang."

"So I figured that maybe, instead of bringing you to the party, I'd bring the party to you. I asked for help here and there. The lights are from Io, and I asked Lowain and his buddies to cook us something nice. Gran even found a bottle of your favorite drink. I still had some details to work out but-"

"Drang!"

This time, the Erune stopped talking.

"You did all that for me?"

"Of course."

 _Of course,_ he said. As if it was the most natural thing he could have done.

Sturm was at a loss for words. Usually, she wasn't one to be easily moved, and heartfelt acts like that could only go so far before becoming way too sappy for her tastes.

But she had to admit, this time - just this time - it was enough to make her heart ache.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Do you hate it? Come on please, don't tell me you hate it!"

Drang was very close to fall into another one of his ramblings. When her voice came back, it was very small, and she couldn't look at him in the eyes.

"Thank you Drang."

"Hum?"

"I really appreciate it."

"You do?! That's a relief." The sigh was indeed one of relief. 

He walked toward the table, humming now that he was reassured and started unscrewing a bottle.

It was another thing about him that would always surprise her. She was often acting cold and indifferent. Yet, Drang was the only one capable of always understand her. The only one who knew how she felt, even when her voice stayed flat and controlled.

So, she bet he also could pick the slight distress inside her when she awkwardly said "I'm sorry. I have no present for you in return."

He dismissed it. Of course he would.

"Come one Sturm, I don't care about that. If you enjoy your Christmas as much as I do, then everything's fine."

He smiled at her, and it was all she needed to act on impulse. In two steps, she closed the distance between them and grabbed his arm. When the Erune turned, clearly surprised, she didn't stop there and yanked him to her level.

"Stur-"

She didn't let him finish. Soon enough, her lips were on his, their kiss drowning everything else he was going to say.

If he was frozen at first, he quickly got into it. _Really_ into it. She could feel him melting against her, all of his usual jest and bravado totally gone. His hands found her hips and stayed there, like it always belonged there, yet she could feel them shaking ever so slightly with what she hoped was delight.

It was weird, how kissing Drang was so normal.

When she released him, she didn't step back. Drang was supporting himself against the table behind him and did little else beside that, looking struck. His cheeks were as red as the wine they spilled - she just realized it.

She also knew that she was probably as red as him. However this time she didn't let it stop her. Sturm looked at him, and with all the seriousness she could muster in such a situation, she spoke before he could do it. If he was capable to, that is.

"Thank you. Really. I am glad I've got to met you. You are... The best partner I could ever have."

At that, he seemed to regain some of his gusto back. He smiled, nothing but genuine happiness for one, and his voice was thick with amusement.

" _'Partner',_ huh? Alright then, if that's the kind of things partners do in your books, I am happy to oblige-"

Sturm didn't let him finish and claimed his lips once again. She found it was a wonderful technique to shut him up.

Truly, this was the best Christmas she had in years.

 

 


End file.
